Connie Jackson was a recluse 637 pound woman who underwent weight loss surgery to lose a staggering 450 pounds. She was approached by the BBC to film a documentary which airs on the Discovery Health Channel.
Sounds neat huh? Well that’s where it stops.
The article also provided a link to her website: http://www.conniejackson.net Which includes not one ounce of personal information about herself, struggles with obesity or the details about her surgery. However you’re in luck! She reminds us on each page of her website to reserve a copy of her book and cd; to check out her store of personally recommended bariatric items; and although she had weight loss surgery you may enter (and purchase) a Medifast program through her; also a program of pre-packaged meals; and most importantly highly endorses Tony Robbins and his products. Tony Robbins is a “motivational speaker” who charges fees for his seminars. Normally these type of programs consist of mostly buzz words and group hypnosis while never actually giving out any helpful, individual advice.
She also asks on every page for people to please not hesitate in contacting her via email. So I did:
Do you find it ironic now that you've lost 450 pounds; you're using obesity as a cash cow? All I managed to find on your helpful site were hurrahs for inspiration; buy my book; watch my documentary; buy my cd; buy these products I recommend and check out my online store! In fact I found more personal information from an article http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/FEATURES01/601200369 than from your personal website. I'd like to learn which weight loss surgery was performed, how many centimeters were bypassed, etc. But I assume I'll have to watch the documentary or buy your book to find this out.
I guess I'm really stunned that you could spend your entire life battling with morbid obesity then in a blink of an eye turn it around as a an advantage for financial gain under the guise of support.
Not surprisingly, this was her response:
Dear Friend,
Due to the overwhelming outpouring I have received, it is impossible for me to respond to you personally at this time. I wanted you to know that I have received and read your email. Should you require a personal reply, you will receive one in the coming weeks. In the meantime, don't forget to watch the Discovery Health Channel on January 22 and check back to my website for updates. Thank you very much for taking the time to write. Your comments are important to me.
God bless,
Connie
Uh huh. Actually I did try to watch her documentary, however although according to the guide I was watching The Shrinking Woman; it was very clearly something entirely different – i.e. not her show. That's alright, I watched Jackie's Story instead and prefer her. At least she didn't try to sell me anything.
